The monks praised a brother to Abba Antony. But Antony went to him and tested whether he could endure abuse. And when he perceived that he could not bear it, he said: “You are like a house with a highly decorated facade, where burglars have stolen all the furniture out of the back door.”
~ Sayings of the Desert Fathers 8.2
While not all rejection comes with whatever “abuse” St. Antony gave to the brother in this story, it can feel like abuse even when given in a spirit of love. The problem is the same: an easily bruised ego or “thin skin” combined with misplaced hope in ourselves. I’m pretty sure we’ve all been there, even the most praised among us. Continue reading
Everyday Asceticism 